Cheap German cars

Status
Not open for further replies.
You're very nice letting your girlfriend keep your current car. To be clear are you paying all the tags, insurance, and maintenance on it?

If I were you I'd get a w126 Mercedes diesel tank from the late 80s. They hold the road something good.
 
i haven't read all the posts in this thread.
but if you buy a 18 or 19 year old German car you better have a lot of money for repairs.
i would think an old Toyota or Honda would be a better buy.
 
Many years ago I had the same experience with a 'cheap' Volvo, which broke constantly and cost 2-4x more than the comparable Toyota or Ford to repair. I'd advise you to look for an old person's car, like a Crown Vic or 6 cyl Buick, which will be cheap to insure, have low mileage, and are mostly bullet proof and cheap to fix. Look for an estate sale car.
 
I see a lot of ten year old BLACK BMWs here in the Southwest with their windows down in the Summertime.

2nd owners can't afford to replace the AC compressor. BIG BUCKS!!!
 
I once was considering a 3 series. Awesome car. But the Monday after looking at it, I made a call to inquire on a starter for the 3 series as well as my Toyota Camry. This was back in the early 2000's. BMW 3 series starter rebuilt: $300. The Camry starter: $60. Then and there I decided the 3 series was not so cool.
 
Ok I've got a couple questions.

I thought you were married again? And what happened to the Saturn?
 
Originally Posted by Big_3_Only

My advice is to simply buy an American car from an American company, which is Ford or GM now... I wish Chrysler was still in there, but sadly they aren't. You can benefit on the cost front, since American cars are less expensive to buy and to own. I bought a BMW for my wife, brand new in '03 and had tranny problems (among other issues) until I traded it a year and a half later (last foreign car ever for me). Ford & GM make vehicles that are second to none and they are plentiful. Good Luck man.


Believe me, the next time I want a RWD 2 door coupe under 180" long that runs the 1/4 in under 13 seconds and averages over 26 mpg I'm going Ford or GM.
The only problem is, they don't build them...
 
Originally Posted by philipp10
I once was considering a 3 series. Awesome car. But the Monday after looking at it, I made a call to inquire on a starter for the 3 series as well as my Toyota Camry. This was back in the early 2000's. BMW 3 series starter rebuilt: $300. The Camry starter: $60. Then and there I decided the 3 series was not so cool.


I know; I will never EVER be cool...
21.gif
 
Originally Posted by Big_3_Only
Originally Posted by ram_man
Hey everyone, so I am going to buy a cheap car around $2,500 for me to drive my girlfriend has to drive to Indiana once a month and 70 miles to work so I am going to let her have the dart as her full time daily. I have come across a few early 2000's BMW's with manual transmissions around 150,000 miles they look decent as well. Condition wise. I'm scared of them mostly because I don't know much about them . What is your thoughts on German cars particularly older BMW's? What should be watched out for? Or should they be avoided all together.


My advice is to simply buy an American car from an American company, which is Ford or GM now... I wish Chrysler was still in there, but sadly they aren't. You can benefit on the cost front, since American cars are less expensive to buy and to own. I bought a BMW for my wife, brand new in '03 and had tranny problems (among other issues) until I traded it a year and a half later (last foreign car ever for me). Ford & GM make vehicles that are second to none and they are plentiful. Good Luck man.

Tranny in 03 BMW was probably sourced from GM. Though in BMW's proved much better than in GM's.
 
Originally Posted by philipp10
I once was considering a 3 series. Awesome car. But the Monday after looking at it, I made a call to inquire on a starter for the 3 series as well as my Toyota Camry. This was back in the early 2000's. BMW 3 series starter rebuilt: $300. The Camry starter: $60. Then and there I decided the 3 series was not so cool.

Or for example look at my case.
Before Sienna owned BMW X5 35d. Had to change car due to size (expanding family).
Anyway, here are some examples:
BMW X5 35d sport package, 2013:
Front rotors (Brembo): got both on sale for $120, regular price $105 per rotor.
Textar pads (front: $90 (OE suppler, same brake performance).
BMW OE pads (front): $135
ATE pads (front): $96 (also OE supplier).
Textar pads(Rear): $56
BMW OE pads (rear): $90
ATE pads (rear): $76
Used all those pads at one point or another while owning vehicle.
Air filter: $19
AC filter (now this is tricky, X5 has 3): all 3 $40.
Oil filter: $17 (BMW OE Made by Mahle), MANN is $10, Hengst $12, Mahle $19.

Toyota SIenna, 3,5 V6 Limited, 2015:
Toyota OE front rotors are $115 per piece, but they are such POS that I did not get them as I was already having issue with vibrations due to quality.
EBC Ultimax rotors: $167 on Thanxgiving sale, regular price for pair: $250. Will se quality, but used them before on VW's, were good.
EBC front pads (Green stuff): $97 on sale. They do brake MUCH better than OE Toyota, same price. So Toyota front pads are $40 cheaper than BMW, but BMW's are actually, well, braking. Replacement pads from Textar and ATE are braking same as BMW OE (they are suppliers) and they cost same as Toyota's, except, well, they brake.
Toyota OE rear pads: $67. had to install them, did not have time to wait internet order. Considering size, no wonder car brakes like POS.
Air filter: $22
AC filter: $25
Oil filter: $10, but there are sometimes on sale.

So, regular maintenance on Toyota is pretty much same, except in BMW when you step on brake pedal, it brakes, in Toyota that is pretty much hypothetical.
Do not get me started on horrid built quality of Toyota, body that is as thin as Coors beer can.
But starter.... I mean, it does goes on same rate as pads, right?
 
I dunno. I had an old BMW 750. It wasn't bad. I had the flexibility of light duty driving at the time.

There wasn't much rhyme or reason to repair parts or costs. As I recall, an alternator was actually a bit cheaper than for the Crown Vic. Contrary to the stigma my local dealer was not avaricious.

Still, it wouldn't be my first choice unless I were a dyed in the wool weekend wrencher with some financial resources.

At that price level I would put aside all my personal narcissism about the the car I "ought " to be driving, and simply look for a car with at least better than average reliability in the best condition for the price.
 
Originally Posted by jimbrewer
I dunno. I had an old BMW 750. It wasn't bad. I had the flexibility of light duty driving at the time.

There wasn't much rhyme or reason to repair parts or costs. As I recall, an alternator was actually a bit cheaper than for the Crown Vic. Contrary to the stigma my local dealer was not avaricious.

Still, it wouldn't be my first choice unless I were a dyed in the wool weekend wrencher with some financial resources.

At that price level I would put aside all my personal narcissism about the the car I "ought " to be driving, and simply look for a car with at least better than average reliability in the best condition for the price.

Wait, you did not have issues with 750? Now that is first. Those V8's are notorious for issues.
 
Originally Posted by edyvw
Originally Posted by PimTac
They build them good in Germany, eh Heinie?

You see they are easily repaired, unlike GM, Chrysler or Ford.




Interesting. I've never had anything repaired on my Japanese vehicles. It was all normal maintenance. That is over 28 years of exclusive Japanese brand ownership.
 
Originally Posted by edyvw
Originally Posted by jimbrewer
I dunno. I had an old BMW 750. It wasn't bad. I had the flexibility of light duty driving at the time.

There wasn't much rhyme or reason to repair parts or costs. As I recall, an alternator was actually a bit cheaper than for the Crown Vic. Contrary to the stigma my local dealer was not avaricious.

Still, it wouldn't be my first choice unless I were a dyed in the wool weekend wrencher with some financial resources.

At that price level I would put aside all my personal narcissism about the the car I "ought " to be driving, and simply look for a car with at least better than average reliability in the best condition for the price.

Wait, you did not have issues with 750? Now that is first. Those V8's are notorious for issues.


It was the V12! More reliable than the V8. Never had a problem with the engine at all.
 
Well everyone I can work on the car myself and I want something enthusiast minded I found a one owner 01 6cyl 2.8 Jetta how are they?
 
Originally Posted by PimTac
Interesting. I've never had anything repaired on my Japanese vehicles. It was all normal maintenance. That is over 28 years of exclusive Japanese brand ownership.

Last 25 years of vehicle ownership for me has seen exactly zero repairs outside of tires, brakes, and maintenance items. And that is on nothing but AMERICAN brands. I'm proud to own American vehicles.
 
Originally Posted by edyvw
Originally Posted by philipp10
I once was considering a 3 series. Awesome car. But the Monday after looking at it, I made a call to inquire on a starter for the 3 series as well as my Toyota Camry. This was back in the early 2000's. BMW 3 series starter rebuilt: $300. The Camry starter: $60. Then and there I decided the 3 series was not so cool.

Or for example look at my case.
Before Sienna owned BMW X5 35d. Had to change car due to size (expanding family).
Anyway, here are some examples:
BMW X5 35d sport package, 2013:
Front rotors (Brembo): got both on sale for $120, regular price $105 per rotor.
Textar pads (front: $90 (OE suppler, same brake performance).
BMW OE pads (front): $135
ATE pads (front): $96 (also OE supplier).
Textar pads(Rear): $56
BMW OE pads (rear): $90
ATE pads (rear): $76
Used all those pads at one point or another while owning vehicle. 0
Air filter: $19
AC filter (now this is tricky, X5 has 3): all 3 $40.
Oil filter: $17 (BMW OE Made by Mahle), MANN is $10, Hengst $12, Mahle $19.

Toyota SIenna, 3,5 V6 Limited, 2015:
Toyota OE front rotors are $115 per piece, but they are such POS that I did not get them as I was already having issue with vibrations due to quality.
EBC Ultimax rotors: $167 on Thanxgiving sale, regular price for pair: $250. Will se quality, but used them before on VW's, were good.
EBC front pads (Green stuff): $97 on sale. They do brake MUCH better than OE Toyota, same price. So Toyota front pads are $40 cheaper than BMW, but BMW's are actually, well, braking. Replacement pads from Textar and ATE are braking same as BMW OE (they are suppliers) and they cost same as Toyota's, except, well, they brake.
Toyota OE rear pads: $67. had to install them, did not have time to wait internet order. Considering size, no wonder car brakes like POS.
Air filter: $22
AC filter: $25
Oil filter: $10, but there are sometimes on sale.

So, regular maintenance on Toyota is pretty much same, except in BMW when you step on brake pedal, it brakes, in Toyota that is pretty much hypothetical.
Do not get me started on horrid built quality of Toyota, body that is as thin as Coors beer can.
But starter.... I mean, it does goes on same rate as pads, right?

fair enough. The 3 series had one other issue, a coolant check engine light was on. Dealer refused to fix it. Looked it up....it was a fairly common issue (can't remember what it exactly was) but it was not cheap to fix as I recall. So I guess unless I feel like fixing constant problems....I'll stick with the Toyota's. That said, in my opinion, Toyota's days as being dominant in quality are probably in the past. I started driving them back in 1986 and that was a period where nothing compared to a Toyota in terms of reliability. Nowdays....most everyone seems to have caught up.
 
Originally Posted by Big_3_Only
Last 25 years of vehicle ownership for me has seen exactly zero repairs outside of tires, brakes, and maintenance items. And that is on nothing but AMERICAN brands. I'm proud to own American vehicles.

To each his own. With a few exceptions-my 1984 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe beater, a 1993 Pathfinder, a 2007 Mazdaspeed 3 and my 1999 Wrangler I've owned nothing but European cars since 1989, and I am equally proud- especially of my BAVARIAN vehicles.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

wings&wheels
Dealer and Mechanic Anecdotes
2
Replies
20
Views
3K
97prizm
M
High Mileage accomplishment cheat?
2 3 4
Replies
66
Views
3K
Astro14
W
To trade in or not to trade in
2 3
Replies
40
Views
2K
Kira
W
Modern Turbo Engine Reliability and Durability
3 4 5
Replies
88
Views
5K
wtd
J
New car for my wife.
2 3 4
Replies
62
Views
4K
TomYoung
Back
Top